Prestige Classes

BEAR WARRIOR

Many people, particularly those in "uncivilized" regions of the world, revere bears as symbols of the warrior's strength and battle prowess. By adopting the bear as a totem animal, warriors of these people hope to tap into some of the bear's strength. Bear warriors, through a special relationship with bear spirits, literally adopt a bear's strength in the rage of battle, actually transforming into bears while they fight. Only characters who can already tap into a spiritual power of rage can heighten that power to become bear warriors. Most bear warriors are barbarians, but other multiclass characters sometimes become bear warriors. Characters with another prestige class that grants a rage or frenzy ability occasionally adopt this class. NPC bear warriors are usually the champions of barbarian tribes, rustic villages, or warlike temples. They lead other warriors not through discipline and order, but by the inspiring example they present.

Hit Die: d12.

Requirements

To qualify to become a bear warrior, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +7.

Feats: Power Attack.

Special: Rage or frenzy ability.

Class Skills

The bear warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: The Bear Warrior

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the bear warrior.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Bear warriors gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Bear Form (Su): A bear warrior can transform into a bear (similar to the polymorph spell) while in a rage or frenzy. His only limit on the number of times per day he can assume a bear form is the number of times per day he enters a rage or frenzy, and the bear warrior returns to his own form once the rage or frenzy ends. The bear warrior retains the normal +2 bonus on Will saves and -2 penalty to Armor Class while raging, but the ability score bonuses granted by rage or frenzy are replaced by Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution bonuses appropriate to the bear form taken (see below). As normal for polymorph, the bear warrior gains the bear form's physical qualities (including size, movement, natural armor bonus, natural weapons, space, and reach), as well as any extraordinary special attacks possessed by the form (such as improved grab in the brown bear or dire bear form). The transformation lasts for the duration of the rage or frenzy.

Unlike with the polymorph spell, a bear warrior doesn't gain the bear's Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores when he takes bear form, nor does he regain any hit points when he transforms. However, his current hit points increase due to his new Constitution, as normal for a rage ability.

Any bear warrior can assume the form of a black bear. While in black bear form, he gains a +8 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Dexterity, and a +4 bonus to Constitution.

At 5th level, a bear warrior can choose between black and brown bear forms. While in brown bear form, he gains a +16 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Dexterity, and a +8 bonus to Constitution.

At 10th level, a bear warrior can choose between black, brown, and dire bear forms. While in dire bear form, he gains a +20 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Dexterity, and a +8 bonus to Constitution.

Scent (Ex): At 3rd level, a bear warrior gains the scent special ability (see page 314 of the Monster Manual) while in bear or nonbear form.

Rage +1/Day (Ex): When a bear warrior attains 7th level, the number of times per day that he can enter a state of rage or frenzy increases by one. For example, a 7th-level barbarian/ 7th-level bear warrior can rage three times per day. If that character were to gain one more barbarian level, he could rage four times per day